LOWELL -- Nearly five years after a "drug rip" in which an alleged small-time drug dealer was killed over a small amount of marijuana and a gold necklace, one of the four men linked to the slaying pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

In Lowell Superior Court on Friday, Daniel Ortega, 31, of Lowell, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder for the April 30, 2008, slaying of 28-year-old Denis Osorio outside his 247 Dutton St. apartment in Lowell. He was sentenced to mandatory life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

Ortega and Miguel Perez-Contreras, then 19, of Lowell, were both charged with first-degree murder in the slaying.

Prosecutors said Karen Leduc's shooting was the culmination of years of domestic abuse.
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Police say Perez-Contreras and Ortega conspired with Carlos Munoz, the brother of Osorio's then fiancee, Rose Yvonne Munoz, to use a gun to force their way into Osorio's apartment to steal drugs.

In an interview two days after the shooting, Rose Munoz told The Sun she was asleep in the bedroom at 7 p.m., when she heard a knock on the door of their Dutton Street apartment. As the family's four children watched television nearby, Osorio answered the door and there was some muted conversation, she said. Then she heard a pop.

Two men ran by her on their way out the back door of the apartment. Rose Munoz admits she didn't see their faces. What she focused on was Osorio, who was bleeding profusely from a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

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Before he passed out, Osorio's last words to Rose Munoz was that "Miguel" and "Danny" shot him. The two men, who are friends of Munoz's brother, have been guests in the apartment, she said.

According to court records, When Lowell police Officer Peter St. Arnaud arrived at the apartment, Osorio was lying on his back with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. He continuously stated, "I'm dying, I'm dying."

Osorio was flown by medical helicopter to Boston Medical Center. For two hours, Rose Munoz watched as doctors pumped more and more blood into her fiancé, hoping the internal bleeding would stop. It didn't.

Osorio was the older brother of Moises Cotto, 19, and his 13-year-old brother, John Tejeda, who were gunned down on Aug. 26, 2004, on the front porch of their home at 38 Lincoln St., while playing cards.

Perez-Contreras and Ortega were allegedly supplied a handgun by Dario Ortega.

Carlos Munoz admitted to police that he and the others planned to rob Osorio of his marijuana and his jewelry, according to court records.

Dario Ortega, then 24, of Tewksbury, and Carlos Munoz, then 21, of Taunton, are both charged with accessory before the fact of murder.

The cases against Perez-Contreras, Ortega and Munoz are still pending.

In his statement to police, Carlos Munoz reportedly admitted he warned Ortega and Perez-Contreras that there may be surveillance cameras and to be cautious when approaching the Dutton Street building.

"Munoz also advised Ortega and Perez to steal Osorio's gold chain" because he wanted to "sport" or wear it.

Perez-Contreras initially denied being at the Dutton Street apartment, despite police telling him he had been identified as being there and that he was the one who killed Osorio.

Perez-Contreras then told police, according to the documents, that he was with Ortega at Osorio's house. Perez-Contreras told police Ortega shot Osorio while robbing him.

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